Freak blizzards kill 12 people in Nepal during peak tourist season

Twelve people, including foreign trekkers, have died after an avalanche and blizzard conditions in Nepal’s mountainous north, officials have said. An avalanche buried four Canadians and one Indian trekker in Phu, said Devendra Lamichane, chief administrator of Manang district. The snow buried the trekkers’ bodies and digging them out would take days, he said. Three villagers were killed on Monday in the same district, about 100 miles north-east of the capital, Katmandu, and their bodies were recovered on Wednesday.

The pilot of a rescue helicopter spotted the bodies in snow. But it is not possible to retrieve their bodies because it is heavily snowing in the area now.

Devendra Lamichhane, Manag’s most senior bureaucrat

The rain and snow in Nepal were caused by a cyclone that hit neighboring India several days ago. October is the most popular trekking season in Nepal, with thousands of visitors hiking around Nepal’s Himalayan mountains. The Thorong La pass is also on the route that circles Mount Annapurna, the world’s 10th highest peak. Climate experts claim rising global temperatures have contributed to avalanches on the Himalayan mountains.

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